Generating ISO 9001 interest in management.

[Golfman25]

The last Quality Manager may have had valid reasons for leaving.

There have been many examples of individual experiences in this thread, and some of them may be applicable to your situation.

If you still want to try to move this forward, you can present upper management with the official implementation approach (available for free) from the committee which wrote ISO 9001:

Selection and use of the ISO 9000 family of standards

The brochure provides an overview of the standards in the ISO 9000 family and demonstrates how, collectively, they form a basis for continual improvement and business excellence. In addition to user examples, it includes sections on the following topics: description of the ISO 9000 core series...

www.iso.org

If they aren't interested in moving past step #1 on page 8, then I'd agree with the posters who said you should consider doing something else (at your company, or not).

And as one poster said, starting with documentation is not correct (it's step #4 based on what the committee wrote) - that's like putting on your shoes then putting on your socks.

See this is where I disagree with that publication and IMHO where implementations fail. Look at Step 1 on page 8. It essentially assumes none of that is in place -- using words like "determine" and "define." That looks like a ton of extra work. But it is really not -- most of that already exists. Sure it may not be documented on a bunch of pretty forms, but it's there. At some level, all organizations have things like strategic objectives, business processes and even "context," even if it's only in a small business owner's head. They certainly know customers' needs and expectations -- they wouldn't be in business otherwise. They likely have various objectives and whatnot. Many probably use risk-based thinking in some form without even knowing it. An organization is a living thing. That stuff is there, somewhere. It just needs to be organized and presentable.

In my mind it would go a long way to modify the approach to simply document those management elements that exist and fill in any gaps. Change from "determine" to review, identify, refine -- something that is less work (all management has to do is show you). Semantics, sure, but words mean things. Don't make an ISO QMS look like an insurmountable burden. I guess in summary, use what you have already got first. Guarantee you'll get management support.

 

[Bev D]

I can understand that belief if you haven't seen it first hand. However I have, and if you are first to market and then continue to be the only company to not only have the goods available, but also continue to be cheaper than your competitors, the niceties of due process and after sales can go hang.

However even after having a thriving business for 25+ years it will eventually catch up with you, and you will end up being absorbed by your biggest competitor who is happy to do things in a constructive way and not just "wing it".

I can attest to that! More than once I’ve seen/been involved with a small company that didn’t do most of the things proscribed by ISO yet they still became successful by being first in the market…and yes it eventually catches up with them.